Property managers are typically responsible for managing sites (e.g., residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings, facilities or types of property locations) and monitoring various conditions at these sites. Monitoring and managing multiple sites can be labor-intensive and requires high levels of attention to be devoted to scheduling vendors to perform various tasks. Such activities are particularly challenging in view of complex regulatory climates which require the property managers to undertake various actions to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and laws (e.g., such as environmental regulations which may require compliance with applicable state, federal and local environmental regulations and laws). In addition to understanding and keeping up with the current obligations that are imposed by these regulations, property owners are faced with the daunting task of coordinating and scheduling activities among multiple vendors and other parties to perform tasks in connection with compliance measures. The coordinating and scheduling activities are resource-intensive and prone to significant errors when performed manually or by persons. Such errors can be particularly costly in terms of fines that may be imposed and/or revocations of licenses.
For example, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has recently enacted environmental regulations which pertain to treating water stored in water or cooling towers for legionella and other biological agents. In order to comply with these regulations, property managers are required to undertake different types of tasks (e.g., such as submitting water samples for laboratory testing, cleaning and treating water with biocides, cleaning water tower structures, draining and filling the tower structures, and performing maintenance on the tower structures and associated water systems). In addition to being complex, these tasks require coordination among many different parties (e.g., service providers for performing the tasks, individuals at the sites, and governmental compliance personnel). Moreover, many of these tasks are required to be completed within certain timeframes. The regulations impose very specific time limits for performing such tasks and failure to perform the tasks in the required timeframes can result in heavy fines.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a communications platform that can automate coordination and management of complex tasks and to ensure completion of compliance tasks within required timeframes.